Shaft coupling and bearing for grinding-mills.



C. E. NEEDHAM SHAFT COUPLING AND BEARING FOR GRINDING wuLLs.`

APPLICATION FILED 0CT 11. 1916. l'w. yPatented Apr. 9, 1918-.

I 25 'zo as x7 3B 547 as 36 daf L 47 ao 1151.-? 13 45 4a 4| 4a 45 32 as @5% a4 as 27 3 3| 5A 28 5? Sie 'Z9 30 56 a 3 f i lnvnor. Charles ENeedhum MNM srans CHARLES E. NEEDHAM, OF .ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIG-NOR TO BRADLEY PU'LVERIZER COMPANY, OIE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, .A CORPORATION 0F MAINE.

SHAFT VCOUPLING ANI) BEARING FOR GRINDING-MILLS.

Application filed October 17, 1916. Serial No. 126,214.

To all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. NEEDHAM, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Allentown, county of Lehigh, State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in Shaft Couplings and Bearings for Grinding-Mills, of which the following description, in connection with the accompany ing drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to grinding or pulverizing mills in which the'material is reduced by a suspended revoluble roll, having a gyratory movement in relation to its vertical axis of' suspension, and coperating with an annular die.

The present invention relates to and comprises certain improvements in the coupling and bearing mechanisms which support the revoluble roll shaft.

More particularly the invention relates to improvements in the mechanisms shown and described in my prior Patent No. 1,095,986, granted May 5, 1914, in which the novel structure disclosed includes mechanism devised to insure constant lubrication of the coupling with means for preventing the escape of lubricant therefrom into the material being pulverized.

In the structure disclosed in that patent an overhead bearing supports a vertical shaft which carries a pulley having a hub having a central chamber adapted to contain a body of lubricant, means being provided in said chamber for supporting an oscillatory cross-head supporting the shaft carrying the grinding roll. The cross head is provided with laterally extending trunnions which during the operation of the machine dip into the oil in said chamber, thereby maintaining the same in a constant state of lubrication. Oil is supplied to the coupling member through the upper supporting bearing and constantly works down through the journal of the supporting shaft into the chamber containing the coupling. In keeping the upper bearing properly lu-V bricated a surplus of oil thus flows into the coupling chamber and when it overflows centrifugal action causes it to flow down the wall of the central retaining cone and event-ually to drop into the material being pulverized.

In the structure shown in that patent the Alower portion of the hub of the pulley is provided with a tubular extension which is journaled in the bearing carried in the supporting frame. This lower bearing is independent of the coupling member and re* quires separate lubrication and any excess of oil supplied thereto is likely to drop into the materials being ground.

While the amount of oil thus discharged from the lubricant chamber and from the lower bearing is very small it is objectionable particularly in some classes of material in Awhich the presence of even a small quantity of oil in the pulverized material is detrimental to the product. It is desirable therefore that means may be provided which will absolutely prevent any oil from reaching the material beingpulverized.

One of the'objects of the invention is to provide means which will prevent the es# cape of any of the lubricating oil into the product either from the lubricant chamber of the pulley or from the lower bearing aforesaid. Y

I have discovered that the oil which passes through the overhead bearing for the shaft which supports the driving pulley will replenish the oil in the lubricant chamber and that the excess of oil escaping therefrom is ample to lubricate the lower journal bearing.

A further object of the invention therefore is to provide means for utilizing the excess of oil supplied through the overhead bearing to the lubricant chamber for the purpose of lubricating the lower bearing ot' the driving pulley.

A further feature of the invention is to Patented. Apr. e, i918.

provide a construction in which oil supplied Y to the overhead bearing will serve both to replenish the body of oil in the chamber su'liiciently to maintain the desired degree of submergence of the parts of the coupling member and wherein the oil which over flows from the lubricant chamber will be used again to lubricate the lower bearing for the pulley, means finally being provided to remove any excess of oil which may be supplied to the lower bearing and thereby to prevent any of the lubricant from reaching the material in the pulverizing chamber of the mill.

The drawing illustrates a. grindingv mill embodying my invention, the driving pul* ley, its supporting mechanism and other portions of the mill being shown in vertical ciently to permit the gyratory movement of' the shaft which carries the crushing roll. The crushing roll 9 is rigidly secured to a suspended shaft 10k having a conical end which is fixed in a corresponding apertureV in across head 11 supported by and adapted to oscillate vertically in a pulley 13 which is carried by a supporting shaft 14 which is rotatably mounted within a bearing box 15 having' a spherical surface 16' Vseated in a corresponding socket in the cross head 17 which is carried by frame members 18 which are secured at their lower ends to the base 1. Y

rlhe bearing box 15 has a vertical bore for the shaft 14 and is provided with a bushing 19. The upper portion of the bearing box is enlarged to form chamber 20 for the.

overhead bearing members. The lower wall of this chamber preferably is of spherical curvature and has seated in it a. bearing ring 21L for antifriction bearing members 22. The central. portion of the bearing ring 21 is provided with oil ducts 23 leading from said chamber to the bearing between the bushing 19 and the shaft 1e. i cooperating bearing member 2st is adjustably secured to the shaft 1st by a nut 25 screw threaded" upon said shaft thus providingfor the vertical adjustment of the shaft 14;.

rlhe overhead bearing thus described is substantially the same as that disclosed in the patent to Griiiin No. 1,020,092, and of course no claim is made to this construction per se.

ln grinding mill constructions heretofore devised the weight of the grinding roll and of the pulleyand its inclosed coupling mechanism has either been carried by an overhead bearing such as that just described or by a bearing supporting the pulley from beneath.

ln the present construction in which the pulley and' coupling is supported from an overhead bearing, l have provided a novel Vform of lowerijournal bearing to steady the coupling member, means being provided vfor directing alllof the" excess of oilwhich flows through the upper bearing and cmiplingy member into' said lower Abearing so vthatthe latter? maintainedzi iniY av suitable" state.- of,

neeasve lubricationl and the excess therefrom discharged to some convenient point outside of the mill. 'i

ln the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated herein the frame 18 has supporting brackets 2G having aring 27 integral therewith or secured thereto.

'lhe inner surface of said ring is screw threaded to engage the screw threaded periphery of a sleeve 2S having an inwardly extending flange 29 which is bolted to 'or may be made integral with a flange 30 upon the conical hub 31 which forms a lower supporting bearingfor the pulley 13.

Y The pulley 13 desirably is substantially similar to that disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,095,986 and comprises a hub `formed in two sections, the lower or socket section 32 being provided with a tubular extension 83 having' a tapered wall'adapted to engage a bushing 3e carried by the conical hub 31. The upper or cap section 35 of the pulley hub is provided with a boss 36 which is flxedly secured to the lower portion of the shaft 14, said boss desirably being provided with an upwardly extending flange 37 inclosing the lower end of a bearing box 19 and forming an oil chamber 38 adapted to receive any oil which may pass through the bearing box 19.

Duets 89 passing through the boss 3G permit the oil toflowfrom the chamber 38 into the hollow interior or chamber of the pulley. lliithin the socket member 32 are diametrically disposed upright concaved gibs or seats 40 which usually are made in two parts for convenience, as shown, and which ccoperate withv the curved convex end faces of segments Ll1 which are mounted upon trunnions 42 extending laterally from the cross head 11, thesegments e1 being guided in ways between blocks 13 as is usuari in such constructions. rThe lower end of the cross head is provided with a wear ring 44C having a spherical surface engaging a cooperating ring l5 seated upon the interior of the lower horizontal wall of. the socket portion of the pulley. The under face of the cross head is provided with a preferably conical aperture into which extends a truncated conical sleeve e6 which is secured to the lower section 32 of the hub of the pulley and within the bearing ringl by -an oil tight joint. rl`he'conical sleeve 46 forms the inner wall of the chamber L17 adapted to Vreceive a body ofV lubricant sufficient to partially iin- Inerse the segments upon the cross head.

As will be seen byreference to the drawingthere is an inner elongated space or chamber eS'between theexterior of thereon-i` calsleeve 46 andthe conoidal wall of there cessl in the cross head,and thisch'amber or space is brought, into ldirect communication with the chamber i7 by one or more holes i9 inf thewa-ll of the cross head? so thatv when ture 49 into the inner chamber 48 surrounding the sleeve 46 until it reaches a uniform level within and without the spherical bearing members 44, 45. Y

Then the mill is set in operation the motion of the inclosed cross head and its adjuncts will agitate the oil and all portions of the mechanism when the pulley will be maintained thoroughly lubricated. The centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the coupling will cause the oil immediately surrounding the conical member 46 to flow outwardly through the apertures 49 substantially down t0 the level of the latter.

rl`he oil remaining in the interior chamber 48 will however be sufficient to mainl tain the bearing ,surface of the members 44, 45 lubricated and it is found that a small amount of this oil will also be carried by splashing and by centrifugal force upwardly along th'e walls of the conical aperture in the cross head and the outer wall of the conical sleeve 47 until it passes over the end of the latter and runs down the inner face of said sleeve. The lower end of the sleeve 46 is provided with an annular beveled portion 50 which extends beyond the upper end of the conical hub 3l and the latter is provided with a beveled portion 51 corresponding to the bevel 50 thus providing an annular oil guideway leading to the bearing between the bushing 34 and the tubular downward extension 33 of the lower portion 32 of the pulley hub.

The tubular extension 33 of the pulley hub and the conical hub 31 are so constructed as to leave a chamber 53 adapted to receive the oil which passes through the bearing between said extension and hub and the sleeve 28 may be constructed of suiiicient size to cause this chamber to extend upwardly along the outer wall of the tubular extension. The chamber 53 therefore is adapted to retain a considerable amount of oil which may pass 'through said lower bearing. Any suitable means may be provided for disposing of any excess of oil. As illustrated herein a port 54 communicates with a duct 55 which leads to an outlet pipe 56 which may discharge in any suitable receptacle.

By the construction illustrated and described herein means are provided for repeatedly utilizing the oil fed into the upper bearing and finally disposing of the oil in such a manner that it cannot by any possibility enter into the material being pulverized. Furthermore, means are provided -whereby the weight of the roll, the shaft coupling and the pulley may be divided between the upper and lower bearings if desired.

ln erecting the mill the lower bearing is suitably lubricated and when thecoupling members are assembled a sufficient amount of oil is introduced -into the chamber 47 to lill the same up to and preferably slightly above the apertures 49 in the walls of the cross head l1 and finally the chamber 20 of the upper bearing is filled with a lubricant.

During the operation of the mill the oil in the chamber 2O will gradually pass through the antifriction bearingrand passing through thefducts 23 of the wear plate 21 will lubricate the bearing between the bushing 19 and the shaft 14. The oil passing through this bearing will be received in' the chamber 38 at the upper end of the boss 36 of the upper section of the pulley hub from which chamber it will flow through the ducts 39 into the chamber 47 in the hub of the pulley 13, thereby replenishing the oil in said chamber. l

The small vamount of oil which vpasses from said chamber or rather from the interior chamber 48 which communicates therewith, over the conical wall 46 trickles down of the lower section of the pulley, thus maintaining the `lower bearing well lubricated. The excess o f oil passing through the lower bearing accumulates in the chamber 53 from which any excess may escape through the port 54, duct 55 and pipe 56.

By reason of this construction itis found that the consumption of oil is very materially reduced so that where approximately a gallon and a half a day was formerly used in mills of this type, only about a pint is consumed in the operation of the milldisclosed herein. y By providing both upper and lower supporting bearings for the pulley, its inclosed shaft coupling, and the revoluble crushing roll, a more rigid and steady mechanism is provided than in mills heretofore constructed. p

lt will be understood that the embodiment of the invention disclosed herein is illustrative in character and is not restrictive and that other mechanisms' may be provided within the meaning and scope of the following claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A supporting journal for a shaft coupling comprising aframe, an overhead thrust bearing on said frame, a supporting shaft carried by said thrust bearing, a suspended shaft, a universal coupling connecting said suspended shaft to said supporting shaft having a tubular downwardV extension and a supplemental bearing located beneath and engaging said downward extension.

pling.- comprising a' frame, an overhead thrust bearingon said frame, a supporting shaft carriedby said thrust bearing, a driving pulley iiXed-to said shafthaving a tubu lar downward eXten'sion, a suspended shaft tubular extension, a suspended shaft having a cross head-mounted to rock in bearings within said pulley means for supplying oil to said lubricant chamber and means for directing thel oil passing over ythe top of said conical member into' said supplemental bearing.

4. A supportingjournal for a shaft couplingi,V comprising a frame, an overhead thrust bearing on-said frame, a supporting sha-ft carried by said thrust hearing, a driving pulley having a hollow hub fixed to'saidy supportingrshaft and provided4 with a tubu-v lar downward extension and an upwardly extending conical member forming the inner wall of a lubricant: chamber within said pulley, a. supplemental bearinglocated beheath-and inclosing said tubular extension,

a suspended shaft havingl a cross head mountedtorrock in bearings 1n said pulley,y

means for supplying oil to said lubricant` Y chambery means for directingy the oil 4passing over thetop of said conicalmember into said supplemental bearing, a chamber beneathv saidv supplemental bearing to receive the oil passing .through'said bearing and means for removing the surplus of oil from said chamber.

5. A supporting journalfor a shaft couplingV comprising a frame, an overhead thrust bearingon said frame, a supporting shaft car iedby said thrust bearing, a hol low driving pulley secured to said shaft pro-Y vided with a central opening extending through its'under face, said opening being Vsurrounded by a wall to form a lubricant chamber within saidpulleyf, means for supplyingfoil to saidoverhead thrust bearing,

means for causingffoili'passing through said overhead bearingto lflow into said lubricant chamber, alsuspended shaft having a cross headmounted to oscillate ina verticalplaneV within.V said 1.hollow/'pulleyvv and having niembersl adaptedf to be' immersed inthe oil-inl said. chamber, altubulardownwazrd extension onfsaidipnlleyg ay supplemental-bearing, supported by said frame inclosing said down# ward extension and means for directing the oil passingover'the inner wall of said lubricant chamber into said supplemental' bearing whereby oil supplied to the overhead' thrust bearing will replenish the oil delivered from the lubricant chamber and the oil passing from the lubricant chamber will lubricate the supplemental bearings,

6. A supporting journal for a'shaft coupling comprising a frame, an overhead thrust bearing on said frame, supporting shaft carried by said thrust *bea-ring, ahollow driving pulley secured to said shaft provided with a central opening through its lowerv face, a conical wall surrounding said opening and forming the inner wall of a lubricant chamber within saidpulley,

Vmeans for supplying oil to said overhead thrust bearing; means for causing oil passing through said overhead thrust bearing. to` flow into said lubricant chamber, av susn pended shaft having a cross head mounted to oscillate in a vertical plane within said hollow'pulley and having guiding members adapted to be immersed in the oil in said chamber, av tubular downward extension on said pulley having an outwardly flaring;y conical inner wall7 a supplemental bearing carried by said frame having a conical hubextending into said tubular bearing means for supporting said hub providing aV lubricant chamber beneath said bearing andV means for removingthe excess of oil from said chamber. f

7. supporting journal for a shaft coupling comprising a frame providedI with an overhead transverse member having a sphereidal socket'7 a bearing boX having a` spheroidal portion seated in said'soclet and havingan upward extension providing an oil chamber, a thrust bearing in said oil chamloer a supporting shaft earried by said thrust bearing a pulley fixed to said shafthaving a hollow hub provided with a cen- 'ral opening, av conical member surrounding said opening and' formingV the inner.- wall of a lubricant chamber within said pulley, means for causing oil passing'y thr ugh said overhead bearing to flow into said lubricant'Y chamber, a suspended shaftl having cross head mounted for oscillation in a vertical plane'within saidvpulley and having a conical recess to receive the inner conical wall of said lubricant chamber, a tubular downward extension from said pulley having a conoidal Vinner surface a supplemental bearing carried hysaidframe having-a hubengaging said conical surface and providing a lower bearing for said pulleys,A me ns" for adjustably supportingy said h-ub,' and lnieans `for guiding.Y oil passing over the inner wall of said lubricant cham'- b'er intoV said" supplemental bearing;

Szell supplemental journal vfor a shaft coupling comprising a frame, an overhead thrust bearing on said ramehaving an oil reservoir, a supporting shaft carried by said thrust bearing, a hollow driving pulley fixed to said shaft and having a tubular downward extension, a supplemental lower bearing carried by said frame inclosing said tubular extension, means forming a lubricant chamber in said hollow pulley, a suspended shaft having a cross head mounted for oscillation in said pulley and having guiding members adapted Vto be immersed in said lubricant, means for causing oil supplied to the overhead thrust bearing to replenish the oil in the lubricant chamber in said pulley and means for causing the oil passing 'from said lubricant chamber to maintain the supplemental bearing in the state of lubrication.

9. A supplemental journal for a shaft coupling comprising a frame, an overhead thrust bearing on said frame having an oil Gopies of this patent may he obtained for reservoir, a supporting shaft carried by said thrust bearing, a hollow driving pulley fixed to said shaft and having a tubular downward extension, .a supplemental lower bearing carried by said frame inclosing said tubular extension7 means forming a lubricant chamber in said hollow pulley, asuspended shaft having` a cross head mounted for oscillation in saidv pulley and having guiding members adapted to be immersed in said lubricant, means for causing oil supplied to the overhead thrust bearing to replenish the oil in the lubricant chamber in said pulley7 means for causing the oil pass- I.ing from said lubricant chamber to maintain the supplemental bearing in the state of lubrication, and means for removing an excess of oil from the lower supplemental bearing.

lIn testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

CHARLES NEEDHAM.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, B. C. 

